Our Kids

Piper did exclaim at dinner how much she loved knitting and then she gave us an in depth description of what they did:)

So here I am posting. The girls are playing outside on the shark and I would rather be reading but here I am posting, you are welcome:) The reason I would rather be reading is that I am deep in to the 3rd book of the King of Thrones and I am not sure if I want to know what happens or I just want to be finished with it. It is the kind of book that you can’t put down but don’t really have time for, lol! But I know you are not here to listen to me whine about my reading or lack there of so I will move on to more interesting topics.

Piper
Piper is doing awesome, in school and otherwise. She has lost her two top teeth and is working on another bottom tooth. One of her top teeth is coming in and the other isn’t. Her favorite thing about school is math so far but I think she likes all the story telling as well. She was telling me today about recess and I don’t think it is her favorite. She says she mostly walks around and watches everyone and sometimes one of her friends will run up and ask her to play and she will. I gather that grades 1-3 (maybe 4) are on the playground at the same time so I am not sure if she is comfortable being out there with all those ages and she is HOT. Piper is also still whining. OMG please make it stop. Half the time I have become so accustomed to her whining I forget to ask her to try again so we never seem to get passed it. I am making a conscious effort to tell her to try again when she whines. So far she is my only whiner. She likes to get her way and likes to make up the games. She doesn’t like it when her sisters “tell” on her and both Landis and Lela like to keep me “informed” which usually works out for the better. As far as eating goes she is still and on again off again eater. Sometimes her lunch comes back totally eaten and other days she may eat only one thing (and they have snack AND lunch). She has started drinking a green smoothie every morning for breakfast and I just let her go on her eating plan figuring it is what works best for her system.

Lela
Lela is doing great in school as well. She had a few rough days and I think it was a combination of not knowing the routine of it all and also feeling a little bit under the weather. She is LOVING knitting. Apparently they started actual knitting with the needles they made and she tells me knitting is AWESOME (Piper hasn’t mentioned knitting once). She also says it is easy. I talked with her about how it is easy for her but maybe not for everyone since I suspect she will not think the upcoming Math block is very easy. She did tell me that the teacher had them all stand up and then she went around the room and asked them each a math question. The questions are in the form of a riddle or fairy tale (the prince had 4 pumpkins and he gave the princess two, how many did he have left). You get to answer until you get it right, you can also ask a friend for help. Lela did not get the question right, I asked her if she asked a friend and she said no she wanted to do it herself and she got the second one right. They are not allowed to use their fingers as it is called mental math and they are training their brains. She has serious stick to it ness which will serve her well in those things she doesn’t LOVE as much as knitting. As far as eating goes Lela is a ravenous eater, devouring her entire lunch and snack each and every day. She is a super eater and will eat just about any vegetable or fruit you put in her lunch.

Landis
I think Landis is really glad that the girls are back in school. It really gives her time to be alone and also to play with Phoebe. She was having some screaming fits similar to what Lela did back in the day surrounding Sesame Street (her one show) so I talked to her about it and told her we were not going to watch it anymore because she got so upset when I turned it off. We decided Friday two weeks ago would be the last day she got to watch it and she hasn’t asked to watch it since. It really has helped her moods. She still gets frustrated because she is moving from physical expression to verbalization. She often screams when Phoebe takes her toys instead of asking for them back or offering a trade. She is working on it and I am working on not getting frustrated with her when she uses her screaming voice versus asking nicely. She is pretty demanding in her requests so we are working with her to add something nice to the end like please and/or thank you. Landis has been napping lately too and still going to be before 8PM, so like I said I think she is liking being home. We do plan to do playgroup this year at the school but it hasn’t started yet due to some construction still going on at the high school and losing the class space.

Phoebe
Phoebe is adorable. She babbles constantly like she is having a full on conversation with you complete with facial expressions. She is saying more and more words but still prefers to talk in her own language. Today she showed me where my eyes, ears, nose and mouth were and even used the right words for them. It is cute, aside from the fact that her pokes in the eye are hardly gentle. She is napping once a day and going down pretty easy, she still doesn’t sleep through the night but only wakes for a tiny bit and is easy to soothe back to sleep. She wants to do and be with the girls at all times. I think we might potty train soon or at least give it a good go, I am not in any hurry but I think she might be. She is a super happy baby. She is still nursing and my attempts at weaning her have not been successful, but I am weak when she cries at me. Landis just sort of gave it up once I put some rules on her but Phoebe isn’t going for it. She is a good eater, she doesn’t eat much but eats all sorts of fruits and veggies.

Jason
What can I say about Jason, ha! I love him more every day. The girls are so lucky to have such a good role model for a father and for a husband. I know they will chose wisely when/if the day comes for them to find a forever mate because of the great example they have seen at home. He is my lobster.

We have been so fortunate with our school and the girls first grade teacher. Here is an email that we received from her about what the 1st grade class is up to:)

Dear Families,

I hope all is well with you. The children are settling in quite well as first grade students. We have some children still not feeling well in our class. There have been some with the stomach bug, some have fever and sinus issues. I hope all the children are getting plenty of rest each night and eating healthy.

This is just a little update to give you a glimpse into our classroom. Enjoy!

Main Lesson:
We are hard at work in the first grade learning to be neat with our work and practicing our forms. The children worked on spirals today with two colors. The students learned the story of a puppy who created an inward spirall and outward spiral around a tree.The inward spiral was done in yellow and the outward in blue. The children were being ever so careful to be sure the spirals did not touch one another. They are learning to work carefully and slowly and not rush to be finished. We will hear about a little insect named Jupiter this week who fancied the king’s crown collection and bug who visits Mrs. Khalsa’s room who loves to walk her stitch patterns. They will walk these forms and practice with their hands before putting then put them to paper.

Math:
We are reviewing left and right and counting to 100 in our circle work. We have been working on number recognition, mental math, and story problems using manipulatives. This will prepare them for our math and number block this fall.

Language Arts:
The children are leaning many new verses in our first grade. We are listening to stories that are told and read each day. Our room is filled with rich language and quality literature daily. We are also looking at rhyming words and stories and verse with rhyme.

Form Drawing:
We are moving into more intricate first grade forms. These forms are practiced through movement and in written/drawn form. We walk the forms, draw them in the air, gently on our friends backs, on our chalk boards, etc. These forms should be practiced over and over again. It exercises the will!

Eurythmy:
We are hearing stories, skipping, singing, leaning the gestures for consonants and vowels, and learning to listen and speak with our hands with Mr. McElroen. We have enjoyed the lovely piano accompaniment with Mr. Russo too.

Handwork:
The students are working on finishing knitting needles in our class. They also hear song and story with Mrs. Khalsa each class. It is a lovely class and they are doing well.

Movement:
Mrs. Richardson-Heath is playing lovely cooperative games with the first grade. The weather has kept them indoors but that seems to hold the children very well.

Music:
We are working on some first grade songs. Some is teaching si and speaking in Spanish. She has lovely puppets for story and the children love to gather in the back of the room close to her to listen and watch.

Spanish:
The children are listening to stories and singing in Spanish with Senora Damany. They also gather in our story area close to Senora Damany to listen and watch as she weaves her tales in Spanish with puppets and chalkboard drawings.

Our days pass quickly and I am cherishing each moment with them. Thank you for sharing your lovely children with me. I am truly grateful.

Respectfully,
Ms. F